Russia and Ukraine are at war, springing great international attention at the moment. The European Union and the United States are in the process of imposing more sanctions on Russia – while Russia’s foreign minister has said that Russia is “not at war” with Ukraine.

Attempts by Turkey to mediate this week have been unsuccessful so far. The United Nations estimates that some 2 million refugees have left Ukraine to seek shelter because of the fighting.

Among these refugees, are not at least some furries. GFTV managed to locate one of them.

Severyn is a 16-year-old student interested in science and acting, currently taking refuge in Poland. His plans for the future however were thrown off course by the war.

Transcript

GFTV: Okay. We are live on-air. Welcome, Severyn, to the show! How are you?

SEVERYN: I’m pretty fine right now, being imported as a refugee at my friend’s house.

GFTV: So you managed to get out of Ukraine as a refugee in Poland, we will get back to this later in the conversation.

Just as a start for me and the listeners of our episode today, how are you personally, right now, dealing with the situation that your country’s at war? I can only imagine that’s a lot to cope with.

SEVERYN: Well, yes, this is hard to cope with emotionally because many, many things that we were used to, for example, the sound of planes in the sky, now seems hostile. Because, in those eight days that I spent in Ukraine, every aircraft (that flew over) was a military aircraft.

So, any bangs on the doors, and these stomps, claps (I hear) are freaking me out right now, because I got used (to the fact) that those are the science of danger.

Many of my friends managed to get to safer places because they’re in a really dangerous zone right now. It was Eastern Ukraine because it borders Russia and also Belarus.

Because as you know, they both are (involved) in the conflict right now.

GFTV: Yes, very much. So, you told me beforehand that you lived in Kyiv before you fled to Poland. What did you do before the war broke out? What was your life before then?

SEVERYN: I was living in Kyiv. But later when I was around 14, we moved to our summer house and started living there because we needed to finish 

Another house was near the same street (as the old one). So we can live there.

And pretty much I was writing music, learning how to act because my dad is an actor and I also plan to become an actor. I was into STEM, physics, chemistry, and some engineering.

I was trying to self-develop myself because when COVID-19 broke out, I ended up being isolated pretty much and I got a lot of (rest from school). I spent (free time) learning new things, on discovering some stuff.

GFTV: Was this the part when you found out that the furry fandom existed?

SEVERYN: Yes. My friend introduced me to that because before that I was really into anime even though I didn’t have much time to watch because I was still (studying) in Kyiv.

But (I was) living outside of the city, so I spent two hours in the car going from one place to another.

I just kept telling my friends so much I enjoyed nekos (Japanese for “cat”) and all those other characters that look like animals.

And he asked me if you enjoy anthropomorphic characters this much, why won’t you look into furries? And I was like, who are those furries?

That way, I got introduced to the (furry) fandom. I was on Discord at that time. So, I would just browse different Discord servers, find new people, and eventually even got into a big, big DND-like role-play server.

GFTV: So that means that you entered our culture, our fandom in a very difficult time when we already had the (COVID-19) pandemic. Does that mean you are in our fandom for about two years now, something like that?

SEVERYN: Yes.

GFTV: And since you entered our culture in a very difficult time, personally to you, what does being a furry mean?

SEVERYN: Furries, unlike any other fandoms I ever met or was a part of, are supportive and communicative. Because, I had no one to talk to as I just moved and of course, I didn’t know anyone there.

And I was feeling lonely and furries from Discord helped me with that. I found many good friends that I am in touch with until this day. Because we were just talking about how COVID-19 was online, so furry fandom meant (being) supportive of me. Because I was supporting people; they were supporting me.

Furries are a wholesome fandom. They are also very upbeat, very optimistic. And those are the kind of people that will help you even at the hardest time.

GFTV: That’s nice to hear. Is there a notable branch of the furry fandom in Ukraine? Are there many furries (in Ukraine), or not so many? What does the furry fandom in Ukraine look like?

SEVERYN: It is growing in my state. It wasn’t big before COVID-19 started. But when people went online more, they found out that other furries also exist and they started to grow rapidly. I know many furries in Ukraine and unlike Western furries, we don’t have big meetings.

There is one furcon, actually two, in the cities of Lviv (LvivFurs) and Kyiv (WUFF).

But furries just find each other in cities where they live and they just meet. So they can write in a Telegram group, just ask like, “Hey, who’s in Kyiv? Let’s meet there, or there,” And they just meet.

So we don’t have big furcons. Instead, we have small local meetings.

GFTV: You mentioned Kyiv; how is furry being a furry regarded in Ukraine, in your region in Kyiv? What do people think about this; how do they respond to furries and furry art, if they respond after all?

SEVERYN: Most people find it like just another hobby. So they don’t respond as bitterly of course; respond negatively because of stereotypes and stuff.

Others are interested like, who are those furries? They never heard of that term. And eventually, some of them even sometimes get into the furry fandom.

So, even though Eastern or Western Europe is seen as a pretty hostile environment for furries, the Ukrainian people are usually coping with furries pretty well, so they don’t mind them.

Yeah, they like them, so we don’t have such hate (toward furries) as people imagined.

GFTV: Speaking about Western and Eastern Europe, did you, in your time in the furry culture, ever notice some kind of a difference between the Western and Eastern furries? Maybe, misconceptions about each other, or are we all the same in your opinion?

SEVERYN: Well, as I said, the Ukrainian furry fandom is only starting; it’s growing and developing.

Unlike Western furries, we don’t have that many fursuits. So usually when people meet, they meet in their regular clothes. That’s because they don’t have (fursuit makers) or they don’t have money to buy or sew a fursuit.

So a big misconception (we have) about Western furries, is we think American furries are very very wealthy.

GFTV: Okay, interesting. Is there still any connection to the Russian part of the furry fandom, or is that completely gone now? Do you still have any connection to Russian furries or did you ever have a connection?

SEVERYN: Well, I must also mention that the Ukrainian furries are extremely patriotic because we understand our countries in the best shape, and we want to work to make our land better.

And I mentioned that I was in a D&D-like server – it was a Russian server and well, Russian furries are pretty hostile there.

Uh, I must admit that among all the furries I ever met, Russian furries have to be the most toxic, the most annoying and the most aggressive ones.

After the war started, they were completely brainwashed by propaganda. Because when I talked to my friends from there that a missile landed one kilometre away from me, they said “we don’t believe you; that’s fake; the Russians never bombed other (Ukrainian) cities” and stuff, and stuff.

So, every Ukrainian furry that kept a connection with Russian and Belarusian furries, they are now completely broken. Because Russian furries are pretty hostile towards Ukraine, and usually even refer to Ukraine as a part of Russia.

GFTV: Really? Okay, so what would you say about how they feel about the war then?

SEVERYN: (To wherever) you are, sorry for what happened. There are (many people) that believes all men in Ukraine are Nazis, and we are bombing ourselves to blame Russia.

And the biggest part of those Russian furries, they just don’t care. They even try not to mention (about the war), and many, many Russian servers even have rules, not to mention the (Russia-Ukrainian war).

So, I guess like half of the Russian furries just don’t care.

GFTV: I see. I have very few contacts into the Russian part of the fandom myself. And what I heard from them, or my contacts was that they really felt horrible about the war. It’s interesting how opinions can vary from different contexts.

Do you think then that this war will come with a lasting division between the Russian part of the fandom and the rest of the world’s, or not?

SEVERYN:I think it will because there’s a popular phrase among Russian furries; the people of Russia: they’re not guilty.

Like, they are not the government, and they can do nothing. But they paid the taxes and those types of taxes went to make tanks.

They, most of them, don’t even bother to go on (furry) meetings, not even saying that they’re making anything more radical than just (furry) meetings. So many of them don’t even bother to go on their local square; on their central street, and just stand there against the war.

GFTV: I see. Let’s get back to the situation you’re in right now. You mentioned that you fled to Poland and are staying with a friend right now. What I’m interested in is how did you learn that an actual war has started in your country? How was that?

SEVERYN: I was pretty lucky to live less than a kilometre, around 600 metres from a military base. And by 5 am, two large ballistic missiles landed there. So I knew there was a war at the very moment when it started.

Before any landing land and water units moved towards Ukraine from their lands, there was a large ballistic missile attack on all communicative and military centres.

We didn’t have much of a shelter. So me and my family were hiding under the stairs because that was the safest place we had in our house.

GFTV: I can only imagine how that must’ve been. I am certain I would have been frightened for my life. What kind of moment was that for you?

SEVERYN: Everyone was really scared and didn’t know what to do because we hoped that it was just a ballistic missile attack and no troops would move.

The first news (of the war) came from the biggest Ukrainian news network on Telegram because when there is such a situation, you need to know the news, very operatively.

If you come from the country, you know, you need to know where you should go, so you don’t happen to be in the middle of the fight.  

Everyone was just threatened and waiting (for the war to go) because there was a feeling of hopelessness. Because what can you do against a missile? You can just hide and wait until something gets clearer.

GFTV: And what happened next after the very first moment of the war?

SEVERYN: Shortly after we knew that it was a real war, not just a ballistic strike, we started to plan our actions. We thought we needed to go out of the country, but we realise that now is very dangerous.

The borders will be heavily loaded (with the military). Many (military) cars will be there. So we decided that we’d just wait.

We need to take all we need. So when there is a (chance), we will flee from the country fast.

Later the next day, we stayed under the stairs almost all day.  The day after my father went to a local territory defence point and he was just asking, do they need anything, like medications, instruments or maybe some electronics.

I was feeling guilty about that. I’m not old enough, neither I am experienced enough to help any one of them

And Ukrainian furries, like most of them, are into STEM. And because of the furries I knew, I got into a cyberactivism movement pretty quickly.

So there were a lot of people and furries are also (hacking) Russian website sites, so (Russia) don’t get quite as much communication.

GFTV: So since you were not in the army, you are trying together with other furries to get into the way of the Russian military and whatever you can basically from where you are?

SEVERYN: We were (hacking) banks. Uh, we were (hacking) government websites. We were (hacking) their main browsers, like Yandex. We were (hacking) everything we thought would be an important source for (the Russian side), especially bus and aeroplane tickets (websites) before the sanctions were implemented on them.

GFTV: So everyone is trying to do their little part, even if they’re not in the military?

SEVERYN: Yes. the entire Ukrainian nation. I think the best explanation is that everyone is militarised. But not because they are forced to (as) they wanted it.

Even people that are abroad, they’re doing everything they can to protect our land.

GFTV: I see. How did you then actually get into Poland and out of Ukraine?

SEVERYN: After a few days of the war, the Russians started to attack civil points – so hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and also bridges and roads.

And we quickly realised Ukraine consists of two (river) banks, with Dnipro in the centre. The only way to get from one (river) bank to another is through the bridges because the railway stations were loaded.

Of course, there were no flights and we decided that we needed to leave our home when there was only one bridge left.

We didn’t want to (at first), but it was such a requirement for our safety. And we spent four days on the roads. Unless our dad left us to stay in Ukraine, I wanted to stay with him to volunteer for other people who were at the Territorial Defence forces, but he decided that I need to be in a safer place.

GFTV: And then you went into Poland to a friend that you have there?

SEVERYN: Yes. (My father’s) last words to me: “You’re everything that I ever had in my life.”

GFTV: Do you still have contact with your father?

SEVERYN: Yes, I do. We try to make calls as frequently as we can, so yes, we still are in touch. But of course, my mom and I missed him.

GFTV: Of course, and in all of this situation, does the furry culture at all have any role in your life right now? Or is this completely in the background? I mean, you have a lot of other stuff that you have to worry about right now.

SEVERYN: Well, honestly, I have a really strong connection with the furry community right now. Because they are all supportive people. I right now have my friends, my boyfriend, all of them are furries. And many cyberactivists they know are also furries.

So even though I’m not directly in the furry community, like talking about furry stuff, arts and so on,

I am still there. Because a lot of people I know are furries.

GFTV: So you are in Poland now, do you feel safe now?

SEVERYN: Well, yes. But still, it is pretty unnerving to hear civil planes because, you know, I think (it’s part of the) military.

But yes, now I feel much safer and I’m trying to return to everyday life right before our call. I went to the local school to see if I could get in there, and yes I could.

GFTV: Is this what you will do next? How do you even go about your life now? Do you even make (life) plans now? What do you keep yourself busy with?

SEVERYN: Well, right now I think that I will just wait, trying to develop some skills because all plans that I ever had in my life were in Ukraine.

So I wanted to act in Ukraine. I wanted to write and play music in Ukraine. So we just wait because we want to return to Ukraine as fast as possible. So we are just waiting for the war to end.

GFTV: First of all, thank you, Severyn, for these deep insights into what has happened to you and your current situation.

Is there, in the end, anything that you would like to tell the listeners of today’s episode, or anything that comes into your mind?

SEVERYN: Don’t stop talking about Ukraine. Don’t stop talking about the war because as soon as you forget about Ukraine and everyone’s stopped supporting us, we’re doomed.

GFTV: Thanks so much for your time and your insights. Thank you very much.

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